Walker, GOP Senators Rally Georgia Crowd: Democrats Don’t Realize They ‘Woke Up a Bear’

CARROLLTON, Georgia — Herschel Walker hit the campaign trail Tuesday with a show of force, touting his rising motivation level to supporters while flanked by Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Rick Scott (R-FL).

Walker was fresh off a week’s worth of attacks from left-leaning media when he told the crowd of several hundred, “They’re campaigning for your vote, but right now you can see what they’re doing.”

“They’ll do whatever it takes or say whatever they have to say because they want this seat right here, but I don’t think they know that they woke up a bear,” Walker said to heavy applause.

Walker’s southern Christian roots and competitive nature were evident throughout his speech as he spoke in parables and made athletic references about sending a “champion” to the Senate and catching Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), who he said was “running” from debating him.

The former University of Georgia football star, NFL player, and Olympian, is in a dead heat with Warnock less than a month out from the election, which is one of just a handful of midterm races that could determine which party controls the Senate majority next year.

While Cotton and Scott impressed upon the crowd the stakes of the race at a national level, Walker zeroed in on top issues for Georgians, including crippling inflation, military “wokeness,” and law enforcement policies.

“What they don’t know is, hey, the gas prices, my family can’t take that. What they don’t know is wokeness in my military? No, my family can’t take that. What they don’t know is I don’t want them calling my men and women in blue thugs and criminals,” Walker, said.

“No, I can’t take that. It is time for us to stand up,” added Walker, whom Georgia law enforcement officials overwhelmingly support over Warnock in the battleground election.

Warnock, a pastor for three decades, has been caught in past sermons conveying anti-police sentiments, including saying in 2015 that the exonerated Ferguson, Missouri, police involved in the Michael Brown killing had a “gangster and thug mentality.”

Walker then shifted in his speech to naming Warnock directly, asking the crowd, “What is Sen. Warnock doing? It’s absolutely nothing, and right now he’s gonna talk sweet to you. He’s gonna dress nice, but two years he’s been in office, and can you take six more of this here? You can’t take six more of this.”

“It’s time for us to get champions there that’s gonna get behind our military. It’s time for us to get champions there that’s gonna get behind our police officers. It’s time for us to get champions there that are gonna get behind our kids in school so they can quit calling our parents domestic terrorists because they want to know what’s being taught in our schools,” Walker continued. “Hey, just think about it. Pronouns? In our military? How do you identify? In our military? These are war times. What happened to push-ups? Sit-ups! I can tell you right now, China, Iran, and Russia are not talking about pronouns. It’s time for us to wake up.”

Walker, who left football 25 years ago and went on to become a businessowner and spread mental health awareness, remains revered in his home state for his superiority on the field. Seen in the crowd of Carrollton rallygoers was a woman in a Walker jersey, a cutout of a University of Georgia Bulldogs mascot, and “Run Herschel Run” hats.

Following his remarks, attendees formed a lengthy line wanting to meet Walker, who then spent the next phase of the event signing paraphernalia and taking photos.

Walker has no other public appearances scheduled for this week as he turns his attention toward preparing to face Warnock in a debate Friday in Savannah.

Teasing the highly anticipated event toward the end of his speech, he said, “I’m this country boy. Come Friday, y’all better watch it. There’s gonna be a debate. I told him to quit running from me. Quit running because I will catch you.”